The Reincarnation of William Herondale
by The Poly Lama
Summary: 2024; Jem & Tessa's 15th wedding anniversary. Will, newly reincarnated, walks in! *Warnings for Smut, Possibly Gay/bi, Possibly Poly, we shall see!* (Pairings TBD, Jessa to start. What else should we do? Wessa? Heronstairs? Jillessa? let me know cuz this story will only progress if I get by feedback, so plz R&R! *ON HIATUS FOR NOW! If I see enough interest it'll continue! Thanks!*
1. Prologue

_Will rose slowly to his feet. He could not believe he was doing what he was doing, but it was clear that he was, clear as the silver rim around the black of Jem's eyes. "If there is a life after this one," he said, "let me meet you in it, James Carstairs."_

"_There will be other lives." Jem held his hand out, and for a moment, they clasped hands, as they had done during their Parabatai ritual, reaching across twin rings of fire to interlace their fingers with each other. "The world is a wheel," he said. "When we rise or fall, we do it together."_

_Will tightened his grip on Jem's hand, which felt thin as twigs in his. "Well, then," he said, through a tight throat, "since you say there will be another life for me, let us both pray I do not make as colossal a mess of it as I have this one."_

**London 2009**

After attending Tessa's wedding to Jem on Blackfriars Bridge, William Herondale glided restlessly over the streets of London, taking in all of the beautiful landmarks which he had grown to love so dearly in his youth. He was happy for the two of them indeed, as to that, there was no question. However he did admittedly feel a bit _empty_ now. There was not much for him to do here, in his ethereal form. Not, since he needn't watch so diligently over Tessa any longer, for she had Jem now. And so, when it came to pass that a little light appeared within the Limehouse Link tunnel as he floated past it, it caught his attention.

It could have merely been a reflection of some sort, but it seemed so much brighter than any of the other lights in London. So he went towards it. And as he entered the eastern portal of the tunnel, he came to notice that it truly was no ordinary light. It glowed in a very unearthly way, flickering brilliantly as if to say 'Look at me! Pay attention! Come and learn my secrets! I can give you knowledge and show you things that London cannot offer'. And so William went, slowly and cautiously at first, toward the light. Yet soon he was caught up in it and found that he no longer controlled his progress. The light had drawn him in and now was all around him, enveloping William in its heavenly beauty. And soon enough the heavenly beauty that met his eyes, was no longer that of the brilliant light that engulfed him.

He found himself standing in a meadow with a beauty all its own. The grass was more emerald than the greenest meadow he had ever seen in life. The sky was not blue nor grey but white, shining and brilliant. It carried with it its own light, though there was no sun. There was a star, at least William _thought_ it was a star. It flicker even more brightly than the white of the sky or even the light in the tunnel had (Though the tunnel was, in fact, long since forgotten.). Presently, the light or the star or whatever it was, began to descend.

As it grew in the sky as it came closer to William, he could make out its shape and realized it was something much more beautiful than a star. It was _an angel_ with long hair of silver and gold. And angelic runes that moved, shimmering golden on its skin. Its eyes were uniformly gold in all parts and its golden wings were also adorned with golden eyes on every feather. All the eyes were turned on William now and he knew instinctively at once that this was the angel Raziel.

_Since you are here, I must assume you are finally done dallying on the mortal plane, my son?_ The voice of the angel spoke to William in his mind.

"Yes, I believe so. I've had my closure and the two people whom I love most in the world are happy and they have each other. My business is no longer unfinished." He replied while looking at his own feet, for Raziel's beauty was too overwhelming to be witnessed directly.

_Well then, I suppose you do have the option to dilly dally here for your eternity. It might be rather nice and pleasant. However as one of my children, I do wager you go for something more than nice and pleasant. Something tells me you might like to have another go at things, am I right?_

Raziel spoke to William with both the wisdom of the ages and with a familiarity that implied he had known Will from the beginning, which was rather likely true. Will took time to think about the question, he thought long and hard about the question. It was true that he could stay here in this beautiful meadow, basking in the warmth of it. And maybe there were people here he knew, people who had come here at the end of their own lives just as he had. Maybe others like him had chosen to stay. Cecily could be here, Gabriel, their children. Charlotte and Henry and theirs, maybe Sophie and Gideon, for all Will knew, his _own _children could be here, and their children. It was quite the decision. Almost everyone that William had loved was dead and gone. But had they chosen to stay? Or had they moved on?

And suddenly, as if the knowledge were imparted to him from some outside source, Will became aware of one simple fact. It didn't matter where any of them were right now. Everyone comes back here in the end. He would eventually meet all of his loved ones in this meadow. However, the two people who meant the most to him were _not _here. They could not be here yet, for they were still living. One of them will be living for a long, long time. So his decision was made. He could not sit idly by, frolicking in a meadow, when the two people he loved most where elsewhere. Life without Jem and Tessa by his side was no life at all.

"Will I see them, if I chose to be reborn?" He asked, knowing he would not be allowed the answer.

_I cannot tell you that, my son. But odds are better down there than they would be here, don't you think?_

William nodded. "Send me back, please." He asked.

_Before I do, there are things that you should know. I cannot make you Nephilim. That is not to say you couldn't ascend, you could. But you will be born mundane. You will have no knowledge of the Shadowworld and no memory of your loved ones. Don't look horrified, your memories will not be wiped completely, just suppressed. You could regain them, but of course you won't know what you're missing, you'll be completely in the dark about your old life. So, are you still interested?_

"Well, you seem to know me pretty well. I'm sure you know, I quite fancy a challenge. _Send me back please_." He asked again, though this time with a little more trepidation. And in the blink of an eye, William found himself in a rather unlikely place…

…As a _zygote._ You would think that might be remarkably unpleasant, but it's not quite so. At this juncture in time, Will is still operating as soul with the knowledge of heaven. It won't be until he has developed a new brain that he forgets himself and everything else he knows.

And he has another shocking ability. He's able to read his own genetic coding. That means that until Will becomes an embryo he can occupy himself with interpreting his 46 brand new chromosomes. He now knows exactly what he will be like in his new body. _Hmm, thank you Raziel, this may not be such a challenge after all._


	2. Chapter 1

**New York 2024**

Mr. and Mrs. Jem Carstairs were frolicking in bed in their hotel room. It was their fifteenth wedding anniversary trip. They had selected this particular hotel for its view and its exceptional restaurant. Now, they were enjoying the view while doing what people tend to do on their second honeymoon. Room service was on its way, as they had ordered it earlier. Jem gazed at his beautiful wife, who of course had not aged a day since their wedding (being a warlock). In fact, she had not aged a day in the one hundred and forty six years he had known her.

During that time, Tessa had been many things. Went he met Miss Tessa Gray, she was a beautiful young lady. Her soft brown hair framed her face in a lovely way and her grey eyes always sparkled with determination. After several adventures together, Jem had proposed to her and she had accepted, becoming his fiancé. Unbeknownst to Jem, his Parabatai, William Herondale had _also_ been in love with her and her own love had been split between the two boys. They had concealed the fact for Jem's sake, however because he was dying. Jem's dependence on a demon drug called Yin Fen would surely have killed him. Instead he had chosen to become a Silent Brother, taking the vows and leaving his old life behind.

So, with Jem (Who had come to be known as Brother Zachariah upon donning the parchment robes of the Brotherhood.) tucked away in the Silent City and unable to take a bride, Tessa had instead married Will. Jem bore no hard feelings and was always able to keep tabs on the couple throughout their life together and their many adventures. And thanks to the Brotherhood, Jem himself did not age. He watched from afar as Tessa became a mother and eventually a grandmother. Still, she always looked nineteen. Will however, being a Shadowhunter had aged. He became an old man and whenever he and Tessa had gone out into the world she made herself to look more her age, casting a glamour to appear as an old woman.

Eventually in June of 1937, sad to say, Will died. It was a day of immense sadness for both Jem and Tessa and their lives were rocked by the tragedy, although he had lived a good long life. Tessa distanced herself then from their loved ones, knowing she would eventually outlive them all. The only person she allowed to remain in her life after Will was Jem. Once a year on Blackfriars Bridge, they had always met up again and discussed what was new in each other's lives and reminisced of days gone by.

And so, many long decades after Will's death, when one of his and Tessa's own descendants, accidentally by chance, touched Jem with the heavenly fire; it purged not only the Silent Brotherhood but _also _the drug Yin Fen from Jem's system. The heavenly fire returned him to the boy he would have been had he been able to live out a normal life. His hair had gone back to the black of his youth and his eyes were at once dark again. No longer the silver they had been under the influence of the drug.

After Jem was freed of the Brotherhood he went back to courting Tessa, as he began to do over a century prior. Soon enough, they had been able to wed as they always wanted. They married at Blackfriars Bridge and both of them had felt Will's presence on that day. They had said goodbye to him then, hoping that seeing them both happy would give him the peace he needed to finally move on. It has been fifteen years of wedded bliss for Jem and Tessa since that day. They have seen the world together, with Tessa showing Jem all of her favourite places, as by this point, she fancies herself quite well traveled.

They've come to New York for their fifteenth anniversary to see the sights and maybe visit some friends who reside in the city. And as I've said, they chose this hotel for the view and the food. Which brings us back to present at which time, it would seem room service has finally arrived. So Jem reluctantly pulls himself away from Tessa's luxurious kisses which have left him feeling quite breathless, and throws on robe to answer the door.

"Come in, come in." He says, ushering the server inside. He doesn't pay much mind to the fellow at first, until handing him the tip. And when their hands connect, both are blow back by surprise. Jem catches his balance and regains himself. He looks the boy in the eye and nearly faints of shock with what he sees. Or, more precisely, _who he sees_.

"Good God, Tessa, come quickly!" He says to his bride. And throwing a robe over herself she complies, rushing to Jem's side wondering if the tray has spilled or some other such folly. Yet nothing could prepare her for what her eyes would see, or as I've said, _whom_.

"_Will!?_" The pair exclaim in unison.

"That's my name yes, Willem Rendell at your service. The two of you look as if you've seen a ghost." He grins.

"I believe in fact we have." Jem says, regaining a morsel of composure. "Would you care to sit for a moment, I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask you."

And so, thinking this might be something about the hotel, the fifteen year old mundane, Willem Rendell sat in the living room of the honeymoon suite with this oddly familiar couple who acted like they knew him, though surely they had never met before. At any rate, it was his job to pacify the guests and make their stay a pleasant one. And as the son of a single mother, he needed this job. So he always made a point to go the extra mile, even when it meant entertaining wild ideas presented to him by even wilder sorts of people.

"What can I help you with?" He smiled.

"You can humor me for a couple of minutes, even if it seems odd. Do you believe in reincarnation?" Jem asked.

"Why, I, yes I think it's possible. What's this all about?" Willem was trying his hardest to be patient, though at this moment he felt as if he were teetering on the brink of some life changing event. Even though, he couldn't put his finger on it at the moment.

"I want the honest truth now. If you had experienced a past life but had no recollection of it, and there was a way to restore your memories of it, would you want to? Keeping in mind that they may not all be pleasant and that some would be downright painful and that the knowledge of it would change your life forever." Jem pressed, sitting on the edge of his seat, buzzing with a nervous excitement.

"Sort of the red pill or blue pill conundrum I suspect? I've always been a fan of the straight up truth regardless of the consequences, so I suppose I would take the red pill." He smirked.

"That's a good lad. Tessa, _ring up Magnus_!"


	3. Chapter 2

"He's here!" Tessa squealed, as she escorted Magnus Bane into the suite. They had sent young Willem off to finish his shift earlier and now that he was off the clock, he was sat back in the suite's living room with them having a cup of tea while they awaited Magnus's arrival. There was not much that they could tell the poor boy, without breaking the law, because he was a mundane. But all of that would be sorted when Magnus gave him his memories. _If_ Magnus could do precisely that.

"Well, I'm here, yes but I still don't understand why you could possibly want me of all people barging in on your second honeymoon. I mean really, you haven't exactly… Who_ is_ that? I… no… it… _couldn't be_. Will?" Magnus gasped, feeling like he'd just been winded. He looked from Jem's grinning face to Tessa's smirking one and back to the boy sitting on the couch. "It's you! After nearly a century you've come back?" Magnus sputtered.

"Oh good gracious, Magnus! Do you want the boy to have us all _committed_?" Tessa huffed. "He's a mundane, for pity's sake! And he doesn't have a single memory of that life. So telling him you've known him over a hundred years when we all look like teenagers to him is going to send him running for the hills." She sighed.

"You do realize that I'm sitting right here, love?" Willem asked, and then proceeded to shake his head wondering what had possessed him to refer to this strange, yet beautiful girl as 'love'. It was evident that the rest of them caught his mistake as Jem's eyes widened and a tear escaped down Tessa's cheek and Magnus simply laughed.

"It's him alright. I assume you've called me in to help him with his memories?" Magnus inquired of Tessa.

"Yes, if he's still intent on choosing the red pill?" Tessa asked Willem, kneeling down beside him. "You know… that this will change everything, don't you?" She softly reminded him. "You have lived a full and adventurous life before this one and indeed it was a beautiful existence. But you must take into account the fact that it was a long, long time ago. The only people you loved during those years that are still living today are currently in this room. Many people you cared about then are dead and gone and it may be sad to remember them. I don't want you to think for a moment that you would be signing up for a walk in the park if you choose this, Will." She sighed.

Although it was clear that the idea of Will choosing _not_ to remember them was a painful possibility for Tessa and it had been hard to offer him that option. Even harder when, for a moment, it appeared that he just might take the out she had given him. When he spoke, he breathed life back into the hearts beating in that very tense room. "I'll do it. I want to remember." He smiled, cautiously. And that was all the motivation Magnus needed. He knelt at Will's side and began doing for Willem Rendell the same thing he had done for Simon Lewis, after Magnus' father, the demon Asmodeus had taken _his_ memories. And so, he offered Will the same caution.

"They will most likely come back to you a little at a time. Do not get discouraged if you only remember a few things here and there to start. You may not even remember any of us for a long time, so don't dismay. As I say, it could take quite some time. Although I've never done this for a reincarnation as such before, so I can't even promise it _will _work. Just, be patient and we'll do the best we can with this, alright?" And Will nodded.

"Now, Tessa, I want you to fetch me the ingredients for a memory tea and while you're doing that, I will begin with a simple hypnosis. Will, I want you to close your eyes and make yourself comfortable."

As Magnus continued to speak in a soothing voice, Willem saw his own childhood memories winding back in reverse until he was an infant. Yet, Magnus told him to go even further back than that. And surprisingly, he found he was able to. Things were a bit foggy for a moment then, suddenly he saw himself standing in a meadow talking to a golden Angel. And still he went back, even further in his mind. He saw himself drifting along as a spirit and even talking to another spirit of a girl as they watched a wedding take place. That was where he knew these strange people from, it had been _their _wedding. And yet still, he went back.

He had watched these two for a long time, it seemed. He was rewinding through the clock of_ their_ lives memories as he had seen them. Yet still, he went back, years and years and years back, until he found a memory of himself, lying in a bed, surrounded by his family and friends who would miss him; children and grandchildren and this Tessa person. She looked the same as always and it was in that moment, seeing her crying over him that he remembered her, everything about her, who she was to him and his timeless love for her. And he knew too, that the man in the parchment robes was some variation of Jem. They were both there, just as he knew that they were both back in the hotel room now. Without his eyes open, he knew she had returned.

The memories were flying at him now in a barrage of consciousness. He could not stop them anymore than he could stop his own breath from filling his lungs or his heart from beating. They had been lost to him for a time. Over fifteen years to be exact. But they had been his for much, much longer than that. And they were his again. He was himself again. He was William Herondale. And yet, it was odd, because he was also Willem Rendell. And he had fifteen years' worth of new memories of people and places that William Herondale had never known. And so, he was both. He was his past and his present self and then, he heard Magnus, calling for him to wake up.

"Tessa! Jem! Magnus! It worked, thank the Angel! It worked! I remember everything!" And as the three of them enveloped him in a great big hug, all four cried tears of gratitude. It was a homecoming more powerful than any other and they knew, in spite of everything they had already been through, they knew, it was only the beginning of their story.

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><p><strong>AN: Hmm, is anybody out there? Lol, it says people are viewing it but it has no reviews. Without reviews there won't be a third chapter. I normally don't worry if I don't get reviews because my stuff is normally pretty controversial. So far there is nothing too unusual about this story. Although maybe that's the problem, is it too tame? Tell me what you think ;-) <strong>

**Will is back now and he has his memories. What should that mean for Tessa and Jem? Should Will decide to become a Shadowhunter again? Should he try to get Tessa back? Should they share her? Does he maybe secretly have feelings for both of them? Or should he go off and find someone new? Or be with one of the other Mortal Instruments characters that are all still around? Give me your opinion and I'll give you another chapter folks :-)**

**Thanks for reading!**


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